But why? Whether our salaries go up from Rs 6,000 a month to Rs 12,000, or Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000, why is it that we never have extra cash in hand? Why is it still never enough to do all that we want? This lofty question is impossible to answer definitively. Philosophers have tried, so have political scientists, economists and even accountants. So we ask a far more plebeian question instead: How rich is rich when you live in Calcutta? At what point does a salaried person feel that he or she is more than comfortable, and can even splash some money around without feeling guilty — or having huge credit card debt to show for it?

There are obviously a huge number of variables involved: whether you live at home, whether you are married; whether your spouse works; whether you have kids; whether your kids are spoilt (by globalisation, of course, never by you); whether you support your parents; whether you are a shopaholic; whether you are a gambler... and many other mundane or sordid options which bring the bank balance sliding down to a big fat zero.

For a while let us imagine that we are all young, without extended families to support. It is just you, or you and your partner, or at most, you, your partner and a sweet-tempered young child.

JUST YOU

Enjoy it while it lasts — those first few years of earning while living at home, when no matter how little you earn, it is yours to spend on only you. With job opportunities in town more plentiful than even five years ago, those first few pay cheques can be quite sweet indeed. “In the past four or five years, there has been an incredible jump in salaries as the trade and economy is growing with new employment in sectors where the pay is far better than in manufacturing,” explains Ashish Bhattacharya, a professor at IIM Calcutta.

So for a college graduate to look at a starting monthly salary of Rs 10,000-plus isn’t bad — particularly as it leaves them out of the purview of taxes. But this is very far from luxury. “I suppose a high six-figure rake-in wouldn’t be bad at all,” feels Rajarshi Bose, a young marketing executive. “Then of course there is always the matter of wise investments which would perhaps enable this six-figure to culminate in a net seven eventually,” he adds.

“Life is comfortable and even luxurious for me as an unmarried woman living with my parents on a salary of Rs 4.5 lakh per annum. It would be very different if I was in another city,” says Ronita Mukherjee, a sales manager. Her dream salary? Rs 10 lakh a year by age 30.

“In Calcutta Rs 5 to 8 lakh per annum for a young professional without family responsibilities is comfortable,” feels IIM’s Bhattacharya. That is roughly between Rs 41,000 and Rs 66,000 a month, before tax and all the other deductions that make you feel robbed every time you look at your payslip. Optimistically, that gives you around Rs 55,000 in hand. To spend on yourself.

So where does that leave the married ones?

It’s hard out there — particularly for the men. Om Prakash Hassanandani, of Shaadi Point, the offline agency of Shaadi.com, has seen a “60 to 80 per cent” hike in expectations from the bride’s family. “The average income that a family coming to Shaadi Point expects from the groom today is about Rs 6 to 10 lakh per annum. And the average male respondent meets this criteria,” he explains. While many prefer working wives now, men have far more moderate demands — she earning between Rs 2.5 and 5 lakh is fine.

If both work, it is not difficult for even young couples to hit the seven-figure mark. There is a catch, of course. Young, double-income couples like to move out of home. And get a car. And travel the world. And live it up in general. And they are down to zero once again. What promises to be a new standard of financial freedom is burdened by the mammoth load of lifestyle aspiration.

LAVISH LIFESTYLE

The bottomline: we definitely are spending more. The psyche of the average consumer has changed, feels Ujjal, general manager, Forum mall. “The average footfall on weekends is 20,000 people and at least 35 per cent of this translates into buyers, a radical change from the initial 24 per cent,” he explains.

With brands, big and small, national and international, hanging up glow-signs across the city, there is more encouragement to spend. And though Calcutta still carries the cheap tag, most of it is at nationally comparable rates. “A few years ago there was a vast difference in what was sold in Mumbai, Delhi and in Calcutta. The gap has diminished now to a great extent,” points out fashion designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh.

Restaurateur and chef Shaun Kenworthy, whose upscale standalone Blue Potato challenged the notions of conservative Calcutta, feels the city is indeed coming of age. “More and more people are getting the hang of trying something new. Right now is the time to introduce new things as lifestyle choices are becoming more diverse and expensive,” feels the t2 columnist.

“The city is learning how to spend more on fine dining and other lifestyle choices, especially the youngsters and people who travel around,” agrees Lovey Burman of Kookie Jar and Mangio.

While fashion, food and drink are the most visible extravagances tempting Calcuttans to stop saving, there are many more boom areas. Big-ticket investments like real estate — with homeowners getting younger — and cars — with Ambys and 800s finally surrendering road-space to sedans and SUVs — take sizeable chunks out of the salary via EMI.

“Real estate and property prices are on the rise at the moment,” says Abhijit Das, regional director of property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. Rents too have followed suit, with prices ranging between Rs 15 per sq ft (a cheap property in Ballygunge) and Rs 50 (Alipore). That means anything from Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000 for a 1,000-sq-ft flat.

But does all this qualify as true luxury? Do we really have the best of the best at our fingertips? A look around Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore makes it clear that the answer is no, we still have some distance to go, even within the domestic context.

“Coming to Mumbai has changed the way I view spending. Here the only restraints on consumption are time and money. There is just so much to do — and Mumbai gives you the feeling that you can do it all,” says Debjani Mukherjee, a 33-year-old Calcuttan who shifted base two years ago.

Calcutta is definitely not in the same league in terms of things to spend on in town. Or in the feeling of invincibility as consumers. And maybe we should be thankful. For our next question is the most frightening of all: What happens when we do reach the big league of big spenders? How much will be enough then?

(What is your dream salary in Calcutta? Tell t2@abpmail.com)